Eastern Speckled Shield Lichen
(Punctelia bolliana)
Conservation • Description • Ecology • Distribution • Taxonomy
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Description |
Eastern Speckled Shield Lichen occurs across North America but is especially common in central United States. It is very common in Minnesota. It is found in open woodlands, fields, and roadsides. It grows on the bark of deciduous trees. The vegetative body (thallus) is leaf-like (foliose), bluish-gray, and divided into branches (lobes). The lobes are small to medium-sized, mostly 1 ⁄16″ to ¼″ (2 to 6 mm) but up to ⅜″ (10 mm) in diameter. On older parts of the thallus, the lobes become wrinkled and folded and develop many small lobe-like growths (lobules) both on the edges and across the surface. The upper surface does not have powdery dull granules (soredia), shiny granules (isidia), or a chalky or “frosted” surface (pruina). However, it does have abundant, tiny, globular chambers (pycnidia) embedded in the thallus with an opening through which fungal spores are released. The pycnidia look like pale brown to black pinpricks on the thallus surface. This is the feature that gives the lichen its common name. The lower thallus surface is pale tan and is covered with pale unbranched anchoring structures (rhizines) up to the lobe edges. Brown, slightly raised, disk-like, spore-producing structures (apothecia) are always present, usually abundant. The disks are broad, ⅛″ to ⅝″ (3 to 15 mm) in diameter, and are shaped like a plate with a ring around them. They are brown inside and the ring is made of tissue similar to the thallus. Larger disks often have a convoluted shape. |
Similar Species |
Ecology |
Substrate |
Trees |
Growth Form |
Foliose |
Habitat |
Open woodlands, fields, and roadsides |
Hosts |
deciduous trees |
Distribution |
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Sources |
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| 11/20/2024 | ||
Occurrence |
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Very common |
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Taxonomy |
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Kingdom |
Fungi (fungi) |
Subkingdom |
Dikarya |
Phylum |
Ascomycota (sac fungi) |
Subphylum |
Pezizomycotina |
Class |
Lecanoromycetes (common lichens) |
Subclass |
Lecanoromycetidae (shield lichens, sunburst lichens, rosette lichens, and allies) |
Order |
Lecanorales (shield lichens, rim lichens, and allies) |
Suborder |
Lecanorineae |
Family |
Parmeliaceae (shield lichens and allies) |
Subfamily |
Parmelioideae (typical shield lichens) |
Genus |
Punctelia (speckled shield lichens) |
Mycobiont |
Punctelia bolliana |
Photobiont |
Trebouxia ? (green algae) |
Subordinate Taxa |
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Synonyms |
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Parmelia bolliana |
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Common Names |
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Eastern Speckled Shield Lichen |
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Glossary
Apothecium
An open, disk-shaped or cup-shaped, reproductive structure, with spore sacs on the upper surface, that produces spores for the fungal partner of a lichen. Plural: apothecia.
Foliose
Adjective: Leaf-like growth form; referring to lichens with leaf-like growths divided into lobes.
Noun: The leaf-like, vegetative body of a lichen (thallus) that has thin, flat lobes which are free from the substrate.
Isidium
An asexual reproductive structure of a lichen in the form of a tiny outgrowth of the upper cortex. It consists of a cluster of algal cells (the photobiont) wrapped in fungal filaments (the mycobiont), and a shiny outer layer of protective tissue (cortex). Plural: isidia.
Lobule
A small lobe-like subdivision of a lobe. In lichens, a small lobe-like, asexual, reproductive structure produced at the edge of a lobe, breaks off, and reestablishes elsewhere.
Rhizine
A root-like structure of a lichen that attaches the lower layer to the substrate.
Soredium
An asexual reproductive structure of a lichen in the form of a tiny dull granule on the thallus surface that can be easily brushed off. It consists of a cluster of algal cells (the photobiont) wrapped in fungal filaments (the mycobiont), but without an outer layer of protective tissue (cortex). Plural: soredia.
Thallus
The vegetative body of a lichen composed of both the alga and the fungus.
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Luciearl |
Location: Lake Shore, MN |
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Luciearl |
Location: Cass County |
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Created: 2/15/2019 Last Updated: © MinnesotaSeasons.com. All rights reserved. |